Update....
I had one last go at starting it, no go, so I whacked the steering wheel hard, and it freed up.so on my way to work I phone BMW assist and asked if they could come and check it out at work, I was told no, as I'd managed to get it going they wouldn't until it failed again, let's hope it doesn't.

In the 31 years I've been driving, it's been the first time a car has let me down on a work day, and I've owned some right shed in the past

Oh well it's happened again, got back from a short trip at lunch time, and the steering locked on again.

BMW assist have just been out and found a fault code in relation to the steering lock electronics, the chap said the codes had been noted and cleared, advice from the diag kit was "no further action needed" but he's given me a letter to get it checked out at the dealers just to be sure.

You might want to take a search on ELV on the forum. There's a lot of information pertaining to this. I had the problem last August that started with a yellow warning. With that I was able to get the car started after a jiggle or two on the wheel. Then it came up red and try as I may I couldn't get it to do anything. I locked and left the car for a while and it started up straightaway. However, since it had occurred more than three times in as many days I had the dealership look at it. They replaced a sensor on the steering column (some people have reported that the solution requires replacing the whole steering column).

Hope you get it fixed pronto. My SA said it's a known problem that need rectification quickly because it's a safety issue. (Her words).

You might want to take a search on ELV on the forum. There's a lot of information pertaining to this. I had the problem last August that started with a yellow warning. With that I was able to get the car started after a jiggle or two on the wheel. Then it came up red and try as I may I couldn't get it to do anything. I locked and left the car for a while and it started up straightaway. However, since it had occurred more than three times in as many days I had the dealership look at it. They replaced a sensor on the steering column (some people have reported that the solution requires replacing the whole steering column).

Hope you get it fixed pronto. My SA said it's a known problem that need rectification quickly because it's a safety issue. (Her words).

That's interesting and thanks for the info,I plan to talk to the dealer today.